Rope pull bar

ABSTRACT

A rope pull bar for pulling rope through conduit, said pull bar having a V-shaped notch or slot on an edge in the center of the bar with a perpendicular post on the bar extending outwardly adjacent the bottom of the V so that a rope may be looped around the post and the rope section from the upper run of the loop is positioned in the V-slot whereby when pulled in the direction opposite the point of the V, the upper run of rope will clamp the loose end of the lower run against the bar and provide a secure hold on the rope for further pulling.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to a rope pulling device or handle; and, more particularly, to a device that one or two people may manually hold and pull to assist in pulling electrical wires and cables through conduit or pipe.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the past, numerous devices have been developed and used to pull ropes, cables, lines or wires through conduits or passageways. These devices range from simple hand-held items to more complex equipment such as power-driven winches and windlash machines. However, the need still exists for a simple, hand-held tool whereby one or two people can quickly secure the loose end of a rope and pull the rope through a passageway. Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide such a device.

In particular there is a need for a device where rope does not have to be manually gripped and can be secured to a handle for pulling without being tied in a knot that may slip or become so tight under pulling tension that it cannot be untied easily. Thus, it is another object of the invention to provide a rope pulling device that does not require that a knot be tied.

One example of a prior art hand pulling devices is that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,736,532 that issued on Feb. 28, 1956 to E. V. Hughes and which requires that the fish tape be threaded through a wedging cam or locking mechanism to hold the fish tape. Similar arrangements are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,517 which issued on Jun. 13, 1995 to James E. Rausch and in U.S. Pat. No. 7,152,846 B1 which issued on Dec. 26, 2006 to Jeffrey Jue. Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide a rope pulling device which does not require mechanical clamping jaws or tedious threading of the rope end.

These and other objects are accomplished by my invention which is described below.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It has been surprisingly discovered that a rope puller that includes a bar or handle with a V-shape slot milled on one side of the bar center with a post mounted adjacent the bottom of the V-slot will provide a quick and easy method of securing a rope to be pulled. The loose end of the rope is guided through the V-slot, looped around the post, and then guided under the rope portion that extends through the V-slot as it comes from a conduit. Alternately, the rope is looped around the post with the upper run of the looped portion being the pulling portion and the lower being the loose end. The upper portion is positioned in the V-slot and crosses over the lower portion. This assembly is then in the pulling position when the rope in the V-slot turns at a right angle as it leaves the slot under pulling tension. On the other side of the bar the rope is pulled and clamps the loose end against the handle as it leaves its lower run around the post.

The ends of the bar on either side of the slot act as handles and may be provided with finger grips, and the post may be provided with a retainer head or cap. When gripped and pulled, and with the tension in the rope clamping down the loose end looped around the post, the rope can be pulled by either horizontally positioning the bar or vertically positioning the bar. One person may pull the bar or when in horizontal position the hurdle may be readily pulled by two people, one person pulling on the handle on one side of the notch and the other person pulling the handle on the other side of the notch. When a pulling operation has been completed, such as pulling a wire cable that is fastened to the rope through a conduit, the release of pulling tension allows the quick removal of the bar from the rope end without having to release any clamps or undo any knots. The rope during the pulling operation surprisingly does not slip and retains its position. Thus, the rope pull bar of the present invention requires no maintenance and can be readily carried in the tool box of an electrician.

In a further aspect, the rope pull bar of the invention comprises an elongated handle having a flat, central surface with a V-slot formed in one edge of said surface so that the bottom of the V-slot extends into the surface; and a post is mounted on the handle adjacent the bottom of the V-slot. The distance from the edge of the post to the bottom of the V-slot is preferably about ¼″ but can be in the range of ⅛″ to 1″ or more. The depth of the V-slot is preferably about ⅜″ but may vary from about ¼″ to about 1″ in depth.

The central surface which is preferably flat and in which the post is located may have flat or round or other shaped handles extending outwardly therefrom. The pull bar may be formed of wood, plastic, or metal, preferably, aluminum or an aluminum alloy. The post may be a bolt with a cap and extend through the handle or the post may be screwed into a threaded hole or socket formed in the surface of the bar.

In still another aspect, the invention is a rope pull bar comprising an elongated handle having a flat, central surface with a V-shaped notch or slot formed in one edge of said surface with a post mounted in the surface adjacent the bottom or the point of the V, the post having a cap to retain the rope and the lateral surface of the post shaft being knurled to provide a friction surface; and a rope positioned in the V-slot and looped around the post and under the lower run of rope extending from the V-slot. When pulled by a user by placing his hands on each side of the pull bar and exerting force, the tension of the upper loop of the rope will clamp the loose lower end and prevent it from sliding so that a secured rope end is provided and the rope is readily pulled with the handle when fastened to a line or wire in a conduit. It is preferred that the post be mounted so that it is at right angles or orthogonal or perpendicular to the surface. The handle preferably should be positioned so that it lies in a vertical plane that is at a right angle or perpendicular to the direction to the rope pull. The handle position may be vertical or horizontal or at other comfortable angle for the user.

In a still further aspect the invention is a method of pulling line or rope through a conduit by providing a pull bar or handle as described above and looping the rope around the post so that the rope segment that goes through the notch and to the conduit is on top or upper run and the loose end on the lower run where it is clamped against the handle by the upper rope segment. When held vertically, at the end of one pulling stroke, the bar may be held by one hand of a person doing the pulling and as the rope becomes slack the other hand can pull the loose end to tighten the rope for another pulling stroke without removing the rope from the post. Thus, the rope may be pulled from the conduit and the person doing the pulling need not move backwardly to a great degree or may even stay at the same location.

The invention may be better understood by reference to the drawings described below:

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings which are attached hereto and made a part of this disclosure are for illustration and not for limitation. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a drawing of the rope pull bar of the invention showing the bar held manually with the rope under tension;

FIG. 2 shows the manner in which the loose end of the rope is looped around the holding post and under the pulling end of the rope that is under tension and positioned in the V-slot;

FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 4 but shows the rope segment to be pulled positioned in the V slot before tension is applied;

FIG. 4 shows one embodiment of the rope pull bar of the present invention without the rope being present;

FIG. 5 is a partial section view of the rope pull bar showing in detail the V-slot or notch, post, flat surface, and handle area; and

FIG. 6 is a side view of the view of FIG. 5 showing a preferred embodiment of the post as it is mounted into the bar.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Looking first at FIG. 1, the rope puller or rope pull bar 1 is shown being held in a vertical position. In this position the bar will lie in or on a vertical plane that is perpendicular to the direction of the rope 2. The rope 2 which is under tension runs around the bottom or back side of the pull bar 1 and through the V-slot 7 or notch and then loops around the post 5. The loose end 3 hangs downwardly and the bar 1 is gripped on the upper side and the lower side of the notch in which the rope under tension is positioned. The pull bar may be held in this vertical position or rotated and held horizontally. In FIG. 1, the pulling force F is directed to the left or opposite the direction in which the V-slot points. The main requirement is that substantially equal pulling force be applied by the hands of the user to keep the rope positioned in the V-slot. The rope 2 being under tension clamps the loose end segment 3 tightly against bar 4.

Pulling can be done in strokes. When the tension on the rope 2 is relaxed, the clamping action is relaxed and one hand of the operator or puller can pull the loose end 3 downward to take up slack after each pulling stroke. Then, by applying pulling force the rope 2 again clamps loose end 3 against bar 4 for the next stroke.

The position of the rope in the slot or notch can be seen more clearly in FIG. 3 where the rope to be pulled is positioned in the V-slot 7. The hand grips areas designated as 6 and 6′ are also illustrated.

In FIG. 4, the rope pull bar 1 is shown in a perspective view and the grip areas of 6 and 6′ are distinct from the flat surface area which extends from S-1 to S-2 although the grip areas may be the same as the flat surface central area. The handle portion of the bar 4 may be round or oval in cross-section to provide a comfortable grip for the user. It is preferred that the surface area on the sides of the bar adjacent the V-slot and the post 5 should be substantially flat.

In FIG. 5, which is a top plan view of the central or mid-section of pull bar 1, the handle 4 of the pull bar 1 is shown in greater detail in the mid-section of the bar 4 which includes the V-slot or notch 7 and post 5. As mentioned, it is preferred that the surface between S-1 and S-2 be flat or substantially flat. Likewise, it is preferred that the handle sections 6 and 6′ be provided with finger grips or be somewhat rounded to provide for substantial gripping by the user. The opening or mouth of notch 7 has a width defined by angle Ø which is the angle between the walls of the notch, the vertex or intersection of the walls forming the bottom or point of the V. The angle is preferably an arc of about 90° but it can be in the range from about 70 to 135°. The main requirement is that the V-shaped notch be deep enough, that is, the depth designated as D be deep enough and the angle of the V-shaped notch be sufficiently steep to provide lateral support for a rope 2 which is positioned in the notch. In other words, the notch configuration keeps the rope positioned without slipping out of the notch. A typical depth of the notch would be ⅜″. Rope diameters that can be readily accommodated would be 3/16″, ¼″, ⅜″, ½″, and up to and ⅝″. Generally, if a larger diameter rope is required, the pulling force would be greater than that which could be handled by one person or even two.

For optimum operation, it is preferred that the post 5 be located with its upper edge at about the same depth D as the bottom of the V-shaped slot. The preferred location is the distance X or about ¼″ to the right and a distance Y of about ¼″ below the bottom of the notch. These distances X and Y are measured from the vertical and horizontal centerlines V and H of the cap 5. This distance is a preferred and optimum distance for ease of handling and looping and unfastening of the looped rope. Referring back to FIG. 2, it can be seen that the loose end 3 of the rope 2 can be looped around the post 5 and under itself or under the upper run of the rope 2.

Turning now to FIG. 6, which is a schematic side view of FIG. 5, the bar 4 and post 5 with cap 9 are shown. The cap prevents the rope looped around the post from slipping off the end of the post. The shaft 8 of the post has knurling 10 which is diamond-shaped and is prepared by grooves cut into the lateral surface to provide the surface with sufficient friction to reduce any slippage that might occur when the rope is being pulled. Flange 12 is provided on the post so that the post is stabilized and will not rock from side to side and acts as a means for tightening the post as it is screwed into socket 11. The threaded socket 11 is adapted to receive the correspondingly threaded portion of the post 5. The depth of the socket is preferably about ⅜″.

The bar 4 of rope puller 1 is preferably made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy but it may be formed of steel or other metal, plastic, or wood. The preferred thickness T of the bar is about ¾″ in a preferred range from about ½″ to 1½″. The preferred width W is about 1½″ and may be in the range of about 1″ to about 3″. A preferred length of the bar is about 14″ and the length may vary from 10″ or less to 18″ or more. This provides a readily usable rope puller which can be used in the manner as shown in FIG. 1.

The preferred embodiment with the dimensions and materials described above is the best mode of the invention. Other embodiments and modifications may become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading this disclosure and observing the drawings but it should be understood that the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the following claims. 

1. A rope pull bar comprising: a) an elongated handle, said handle having a central section that is generally in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped with top, bottom, and side surfaces; b) said central section having a V-shaped slot formed in one side thereof and, said slot extending in a side surface from the top to the bottom surface; c) a post mounted on said top surface adjacent to one side of the bottom or point of said V-slot; d) said post having a cap whereby, when a portion of a rope to be pulled is positioned in said slot with its loose end looped around said post and under said portion, manual force applied by gripping the handle on each side of said V-slot and pulling in the direction opposite from the point of the V-slot, will clamp the loose end of the rope to the handle and facilitate rope pulling.
 2. The rope pull bar of claim 1 wherein the bar comprises a material selected from the group consisting of aluminum, aluminum alloys, steel, wood, and plastic.
 3. The rope pull bar of claim 1 wherein said post comprises a shaft carrying said cap, said shaft having a knurled lateral surface for increasing the friction of the surface which contacts a rope.
 4. The rope pulling bar of claim 1 wherein the depth of said V-slot is in the range of about ¼″ to about 1″, the handle is about ½″ to about 1½″ in thickness, and is about 1½″ to about 3½″ in width.
 5. A rope puller comprising: a) an elongated handle having end sections that may be manually gripped and a midsection connecting the end sections; b) a V-shaped slot in the surface of the midsection for positioning and retaining a portion of a rope in said slot; and, c) a post mounted in the midsection surface adjacent the bottom of said slot and extending outwardly from the surface; said post having a cap, whereby when a rope to be pulled is run through said notch and its loose end looped around said post and under itself, a user, by gripping the end sections of the handle and pulling in a direction opposite that in which the V notch points, will clamp the rope against the handle for continued pulling.
 6. The rope puller of claim 5 wherein the handle comprising aluminum, aluminum alloy, steel, or plastic.
 7. The handle of claim 5 wherein the post has a knurled, lateral surface.
 8. A rope puller comprising: a) an elongated handle having a flat, central surface with a V-shaped slot formed on one edge of said surface with the bottom of the V extends into the surface; said slot extending perpendicularly to said surface for the thickness of the handle; b) a post mounted on the handle adjacent the bottom of the V-slot, said post having a retaining cap; and c) a rope positioned in the V-slot, said rope having a diameter that is less than the depth of the V-slot, said rope having a loose end on the post side of said handle, said loose end being looped around said post and under itself whereby pulling the handle with substantially equal force on each side of the V-slot in the direction opposite that to which said V points will clamp the rope securely for further pulling.
 9. A method of pulling rope through a conduit comprising the steps of: a) providing a rope pull bar according to claim 1; b) providing rope having one end fastened to a line in a conduit and the other end being a loose end; c) looping the rope around the post so that the rope segment that goes through the notch and to the conduit is the upper run and the loose end forms the lower run, whereby when pulling force is exerted on said rope from the upper run said rope will clamp the rope from the lower run tightly and securely against the handle.
 10. The method of claim 9 including the step of applying pulling force by two people, each person gripping said handle.
 11. The method of claim 9 including after step (c) the steps of pulling the handle in a first stroke, relaxing the pulling force thereby creating slack in the upper run rope segment, pulling the loose end of the rope to take up the slack in the rope, and, therefore, pulling the handle in a second stroke. 